Open AccessA prospect theory perspective on terrorism
Author(s) -
Cindy Du Bois
Publication year - 2017
Publication title -
international journal of business and social research
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
eISSN - 2164-2559
pISSN - 2164-2540
DOI - 10.18533/ijbsr.v7i5.1051
Subject(s) - terrorism , prospect theory , framing (construction) , perspective (graphical) , social psychology , psychology , positive economics , political science , economics , computer science , microeconomics , history , law , artificial intelligence , archaeology
This paper presents a new approach for the study of terrorist behaviour and argues that a framework based on Prospect Theory can provide novel, useful insights into the understanding of the terrorist mind-set. Such a framework allows different pathways to become a terrorist and although individual decisions are studied, the model also takes into account environmental factors. By changing these environmental factors and/or framing the choice differently, PT provides insights as to how the terrorist group and/or a charismatic leader can influence the individual’s whether or not to turn to terrorism.